Dubai's new Palm Monorail proves popular

Some 3600 people have already travelled on the Palm Monorail in Dubai since it opened to the public on Thursday morning.

Three trains are currently running from Gateway Station, at the trunk of the Palm, to the Atlantis Aquaventure Station on the crescent and so far 600 passengers have used the system every day.

Dubai-based developer Nakheel plans to run an additional train on the system to increase the number of passengers to 2400 per day, according to its executive managing director Marwan Al Qamzi.

“We feel that many more people will use this mode of transport as it is a much safer and uninterrupted form of transport compared to buses and cars. Plus it has the wow factor,” he said.

The monorail runs from 8am to 10pm every day, with tickets costing US $4 (AED15) for a single and $9 (AED25) for a round trip.

Train stations along the monorail, including the Trump Tower station and the Palm Mall, are due to be completed in 2011 and will eventually be ports of call for traveling tourists.

Nakheel aims to connect the monorail to the Al Sufouh Tram, which will run from the Mall of Emirates to Dubai Marina Mall that is due to be completed in 2012.

The tram will ultimately connect the monorail to the Dubai Metro’s Red Line on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Developed by a consortium of leading international companies, led by the Marubeni Corporation, the Palm Monorail's system is fully automatic and driverless, although an attendant will be on board at all times.

At full capacity, the number of passengers will rise to a maximum of 6000 people in nine vehicles.